On Saturday, Sarah Vahle and I ventured to the metal scrap yard to exchange my junk for dollars. I had been saving miscellaneous wiring, pieces of my old electrical panel, the bathroom sink from 1948, and more. One notable item I planned to cash in was a huge coil of TV camera cabling. Left behind by a previous owner, I learned this 1984 cable connected rolling tv cameras to some sort of mixing board.
Took me about 20 minutes to drag the tv cabling to the door
We loaded everything up in Joe’s truck and headed to Austin Iron and Pipe on East 4th. Its just across the old rail yard from Progress Coffee. This scrap yard has been in business since 1913 – and was very friendly to a metal recycling novice like myself.
First, we were weighed on the truck-size scale with the metal in the truck bed. We unloaded in the yard and then were re-weighed. The difference in weight indicated the number pounds we brought in. They weighed the TV cable separately, as it was more valuable than the rest of the metal.
What to throw first? (Did I say I love my red trash cans?)
Joe’s truck vs. the magnet machine
The bathroom sink off to the recycling heaven in the sky
For all this junk, I made $126.25! Totally worth the effort!
Last weekend, I traveled to New Orleans for my cousin’s graduation from law school. While in town, I was able to visit with old friends and see their rehab projects similar to the Depew Redo! Today, I’ll report on Emilie Taylor’s future masterpiece!
The 1880′s house is on Louisiana Avenue tucked beneath large trees and some convenient on-street parking. Emilie is an experienced design/builder working with Tulane’s URBANbuild and City Center, first as a student and now as studio instructor. She bought the home last year and has been renovating it with Seth Welty, a fellow architecture grad and current Rose Fellow in Biloxi. The house is a traditional camelback, with one story to the front and two stories at the rear. The original layout was 3 bedrooms/one bathroom. The new layout will be divided into two units, a studio apartment and 2 bedroom unit. [Unfortunately, I forgot to take pics during my visit, so I pulled the pictures below from Emilie's Facebook page.]
The exterior – note the front and side porch!
They modified the rear facade turning windows in doors and adding rear balconies on 2 levels.
Similar to the Depew House, the walls are wood. These walls are barge board with vintage wall paper, which were later covered by tongue-and-groove shiplap.
Congrats Emilie and Seth! The house is looking amazing! Maybe you’ll share more pics with us in future?
After 6 months in the house, it was time to re-organize and de-clutter our living/dining room. Last weekend, I bought a new entertainment center to replace a borrowed IKEA piece. We also edited out a large book case, several chairs, and misc stuff. Our new arrangement isn’t set in stone, but its a huge improvement!
BEFORE . . .
AFTER . . .
I found this new entertainment center at Next to New, a thift store run by the Episcopal Church, for $27! Great price for a great cause! The piece needs some TLC and reattachment of the left hand door. I may paint it – not sure yet.
I also hung this vintage map of Italy. I rescued it from the trash pile at a flooded high school in New Orleans. Amazing!
Cheers! Sarah G
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Shortly after getting my tree permit, someone told me how expensive tree removal is! I was shocked! With economy in mind, I contacted the property management company, Eyes of Texas, that manages the neighboring house. I proposed that we both should get some tree work done to share the costs. They agreed and got bids from two companies. Things got busy, and I put the work on the back burner for two weeks.
Today, we woke up to find one of the trees had fallen! Fortunately, it was on the neighbor’s property and didn’t damage any people, their house, or valuable possessions. Wake-up call! My trees are coming down ASAP.
Sincerely, Sarah G
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After trying to pull a full demolition permit for my sad secondary apartment, I ventured to the fourth floor of One Texas Center to talk with the tree people. With one tree on the left and one on the right, I need permission from the City Arborist to alter the “critical root zone” of each tree. This zone will be touched when I dismantle the building. I suspected these trees – along with one other – were dead and need to be removed.
A week later, I got a call from Jason Traweek, COA Arborist, that at least 2 trees were dead. He suggested waiting a little longer to see if some leaves started showing up on the third. After reminding me that I hadn’t paid the $25 and making a second visit to take some pictures, Jason issued my permit! He gave me permission to take all three trees down. I’m sad the trees are dead, but I’m happy to have more flexibility on the back half of the property. Who knows what could be built if the addition is gone?
Cheers! Sarah G.
